ARTICLES ABOUT FOUL TROUBLE BY DATE - PAGE 5

SAN DIEGO - Just when it looked as if No. 4 seed Indiana would end its string of early disappointments in the NCAA tournament, Trevor Huffman stepped in. The junior guard scored 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half, helping No. 13 seed Kent overcome a 12-point deficit in the second half for a 77-73 victory last night in an NCAA West Regional first-round game. Kent State will face Cincinnati tomorrow in the second round. In the final five minutes, Huffman - whose uncle, Shoes Huffman, played on the 1979 NCAA championship team at Michigan State - made a pair of critical and unlikely shots as the Golden Flashes (24-9)

Western senior Rolonda Brown saw her high school basketball career flash before her eyes yesterday as the Doves trailed by eight points late in a regional game at Walbrook. Then, she made sure her career wasn't over. The 5-foot-5 point guard scored 23 of her 26 points in the second half to spark the No. 8 Doves to a comeback 56-42 victory over a feisty young Warriors team in a Class 4A North girls basketball semifinal. "I knew I had to step up and be the leader on the floor," said Brown, whose fellow senior Lillian Drumgold was on the bench in foul trouble most of the second half and fouled out with 7:01 left in the game.

The basketball team that can dictate the tempo usually wins. Such was the case at Westminster last night, as the No. 20-ranked Owls (16-6) dictated the fast tempo they wanted and defeated Chesapeake-AA in a Class 4A East Region girls quarterfinal, 58-45. The Owls will play Arundel tomorrow night in the semifinals. Sophomore point guard Kerry Higgs used her superior quickness to keep the Cougars (11-9) on the run in the first period, and freshman center Emily Bollinger scored eight of her 10 points that period as the Owls built a 13-7 cushion.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Maryland Terrapins failed in their comeback bid against top-ranked North Carolina yesterday, but at least junior center Lonny Baxter rediscovered his game. Baxter had been in constant foul trouble, which had limited his playing time. He has had his hands full against the parade of bigger opponents the ACC presents in the pivot. His shot selection and confidence had suffered of late. Yesterday, it all came together once again for the 6 feet 8, 260-pounder, who gave 7-foot center Brendan Haywood all he could handle.

WASHINGTON - When you've dug the kind of crater the Washington Wizards have for themselves during the first half of the season, there's no time or even reason for the luxury of what could have been. Instead, the Wizards are concentrating on the here and now, which includes last night's 95-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team's fifth straight victory. The win came in the kind of game the Wizards (12-34) have made a habit of blowing this season. In this case, however, the Wizards combined an impressive early offense, as they shot 52 percent during the first three quarters, with tough defense down the stretch, to add to the longest winning streak the team has sustained since a six-game spurt shortly after the MCI Center opened in December 1997.

MIAMI - Alonzo Mourning insisted his supremacy over fellow Georgetown alum Patrick Ewing yesterday wasn't responsible for the Miami Heat's tense 87-83 victory over the New York Knicks in the opener of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series. "This matchup that you all are calling this one-on-one matchup, a lot of it is built on our friendship and the competitiveness of the series historically," Mourning said. "It's pretty much a team thing when you get into it." 'Zo much for modesty.

By Brandon Zimmerman and Brandon Zimmerman,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | March 22, 2000

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Maryland coach Chris Weller called the Terps' trip to the WNIT quarterfinals a "bonus." The only problem against Florida last night was that her team was unable to keep the Gators out of the bonus as the foul-plagued Terps fell, 77-57, before 1,310 at the O'Connell Center. Maryland, which had won two WNIT games before last night, ended its season at 16-15, while Florida (20-12) advanced to the tournament semifinals. "This [WNIT] was a bonus for us," said Weller, whose team rebounded from a 6-21 season last year.

WORCESTER, Mass. -- One of the key points Navy coach Joe Sanchez stressed in preparations for his team's Patriot League women's title rematch with Holy Cross last night was keeping his two talented inside players, Laurie Coffey and Erica Hayes, out of early foul trouble.But Sanchez's warning went unheeded. With Hayes and Coffey, who represented 45 percent of their team's offense, forced to sit out the last eight minutes of the first half, the Crusaders built an 11-point cushion and fought off repeated Navy rallies in the second half to repeat as champions, 72-58, before a record Patriot League women's basketball crowd of 3,152.

With several Milford Mill teammates in foul trouble last night, Quante Toney knew it was time to take over.Toney scored all 10 of her team's overtime points to give the No. 9-ranked Millers a 63-54 victory at No. 18 Catonsville. She ended with 30 points and five assists."Chante [Alexander] had four fouls. Mandy [Clark] had four fouls," said Toney, "so I had to step up and be a leader. The way for me to lead the floor was to make good decisions and shoot good shots."In overtime, Toney hit both three pointers she took and was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Maryland looked like a sure loser at halftime.Three fouls on Obinna Ekezie. Three fouls on Mike Mardesich. Three fouls on Lonny Baxter. A 23-10 rebounding advantage for North Carolina.If the Terps' comeback from a 22-point deficit at the Dean Smith Center two years ago was shocking, then last night's 89-76 victory certainly qualified as surprising, considering the way it transpired.Coach Gary Williams prefers man-to-man defense, but Maryland won by playing zone. The Terps prefer to play up-tempo, but their foul trouble forced them to stretch possessions, shorten the game.